Anthropological Knowledge in the Voluntary Actions for the Benefit of Immigrants from the Guarded Centres for Foreigners in Poland. A post factum Reflection on the Project

The postulate of openness to Others is practiced both by anthropologists and active volunteers. In the case of the former, it is a condition for the acquisition of knowledge on the diversity of ways of life in the world and undertaking actions in the activist paradigm, while with reference to the latter, it is not only tantamount to assistance, but also the basic premise behind their actions. This common ethical perspective turned out to inspire reflections on how the anthropological knowledge can be useful for volunteer activity, which by the way is often understood in practice as ‘helping others out of one’s own accord’. As a result, in 2021/22 the didactic project An Anthropologist – an Expert in Voluntary Activity. Improving Communication Competencies in the Situation of Intercultural Contact was developed in the Department of Anthropology and Ethnology, Adam Mickiewicz University.